Transient cortical blindness related to coronary angiography and graft study.

The Medical Journal of Australia ISSN: 0025-729X 1 July 2002 177 1 43-44 ©The Medical Journal of Australia 2002 www.mja.com.au Lessons from Practice TRANSIENT CORTICAL BLINDNESS related to coronary angiography was first reported in 1970.1 Since then there have been fewer than two dozen cases recorded, some of which include angiography of coronary bypass grafts.2-5 This is a rare neurological complication given the widespread and frequent use of such investigations worldwide. The incidence of cerebrovascular complications in diagnostic cardiac catheterisations and coronary angiography is low. The National Institutes of Health in America reported a rate of 0.03%,6 and the British Cardiac Society report from 34 041 patients gave an incidence of 0.06%.7 This included cerebrovascular accidents, transient ischaemic attacks and amaurosis fugax. Neither study described transient cortical blindness. Usually neuro-ophthalmologic complications of cardiac catheterisation relate to embolic phenomena or migraine. Cortical blindness is better recognised as a complication of cerebral and vertebral angiography, with an incidence of 0.3%– Transient cortical blindness related to coronary angiography and graft study